Mindless Babblings of a Schadenfreude

Mar. 23rd, 2017

In 1980, Cathy and I were fortunate enough to take a Caribbean cruise. One of our cousins organized the whole thing, and the more people we could enlist to go, the cheaper everyone's fare would be. It was a fantastic time, and I still remember it like it was yesterday. I won't bore you with the travel itinerary, just tell the story for the writing prompt.

Two young men that we'd known for most of our lives accompanied us on the cruise - David and James. For the entire eight days of the cruise, after the evening meal, we'd head up to the Lido deck because it was always deserted afer sunset, where we would drink and smoke weed until two or three in the morning, then stumble our way to bed. We had many indepth, philosophical discussions... and found out a lot about one another. It was a good time.

On our last night aboard ship, we'd just settled into our seats and were getting ready to get lit. Jim noticed something in the sky and pointed it out to the rest of us. The best I can describe, it was like looking at a the old Simon game everyone played as kids.

After we all noticed it and watched it hover in place for roughly a minute, the lights began blinking furiously, then it took off. I kid you not, there were light trails, just like in the Star Trek movies, when they are in warp speed, and it was gone. poof! As if it had never been there at all. The whole process of blinking lights, light trails and disappearing took less than three seconds.

We all described the same thing to one another, and then, the next morning, we discussed it again. All of our memories matched.

Now, whether it was a weather balloon, an experimental military plane, or an honest-to-God UFO, I have no clue. But, I saw it. I saw it in the sky!